Francia Great House is a historical plantation

great house A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...

Saint George, Barbados The parish of Saint George ("St. George") is located in the interior of Barbados. It is one of two land-locked parishes, the other being Saint Thomas to the north. A prominent landmark in the parish is Gun Hill Signal Station – one of the few ...

. It is on a wooded hillside near Gun Hill Signal Station.

History

It was completed at the end of the 19th century or in the early 20th century by a Frenchman, René Mourraille, who had lived in Brazil. He met and married a Barbadian and settled in Barbados. It was one of the last plantations built in Barbados. The plantation grew and exported yams,

eddoe Eddoe or eddo is a tropical vegetable often considered identifiable as the species ''Colocasia antiquorum'', closely related to taro (dasheen, ''Colocasia esculenta''), which is primarily used for its thickened stems (corms).Purseglove, J.W. 197 ...

s, and sweet potatoes. Sugar was not grown due to the reduction of the price of sugar internationally at the time the house was built. From the time the house was constructed, it was owned by descendants of Mourraille. By 2007, it had become a private school, the Providence Elementary School.

Architecture and landscaping

DINING ROOM OF FRANCIA GREAT HOUSE - BARBADOS

The building reflects the owner's interest in French architecture in the triple-arched entrance, enclosed upper balcony, and "sweeping front staircase". The house combines Barbadian coral stone craftsmanship,

Demerara window Demerara windows were built primarily into 18th- and 19th-century Colonial architecture-styled buildings to cool homes in hot climates, such as Guyana, before the invention of air conditioning. Demerara is a historical region of Guyana. The win ...

s, and Brazilian wood

panelling Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...

. It has a collection of antique mahogany furniture and West Indian maps dating back to the early 16th century. It is set in terraced English-style gardens, with

bougainvillea ''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. ...

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...

, and

frangipani ''Plumeria'' (), known as frangipani, is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, of the family Apocynaceae. Most species are deciduous shrubs or small trees. The species variously are endemic to Mexico, Central America, and ...

plants and a large mammee apple tree. It also has orchards. The

Barbados National Trust The 'Barbados National Trust'', founded in 1960, is an organisation which works to preserve and protect the natural and artistic heritage of Barbados and to increase public awareness of the country's historic and architectural treasures. These in ...

History

Architecture and landscaping

Notes

References

External links